Humanity is currently on a global journey from patriarchy to solidarity, sustainability, and sustainable human development. The Solidarity & Sustainability newsletter is a series of reflections on how to mitigate patriarchal barriers to human development and, in particular, how to overcome the enormous obstacles caused by religious patriarchies. The newsletter integrates existing and emerging knowledge (empirical evidence, tradition, relevant experience, wisdom) to show that true religion radically transcends the patriarchal mindset. In fact, true religion always enhances human development, and should never be an obstacle to it. The "Millennium Development Goals" of the United Nations are used as a point of reference.

Theme of this Issue:Mimetic Violence in Patriarchal Religions 4

NOTE TO READERS: This issue is a reconsideration of the previous issue. The intent is to focus on the mimetic analysis of religious violence, independently of other theological or pastoral considerations. It is reiterated that this analysis in no way implies intentional wrongdoing by any person at the Vatican or elsewhere.

This issue is focused on one such act of violence: the ban on women priests in the Roman Catholic Church. The reader should have no difficulty in thinking about similar cases in other religious traditions. The Girardian method of mimetic analysis [02] is used to show that God is being used as the scapegoat to justify the violent act of reserving priestly ordination to men alone.

An important reason for using Girard's method is that it explicitly deals with issues of religious violence. Another important reason is that it identifies the Bible as the one and only sacred text in which the scapegoats are innocent, and especially so the divine Scapegoat, Jesus of Nazareth, who finally reverses the notion of sacrificial religions by showing that what God really desires is mercy, not sacrifice[03]. This is a significant breakthrough in religious and social thinking. It can be summarized as follows:

Mythsvs.Bible

Blamers(scapegoaters)

Victims(scapegoats)

Myths

Innocent

Guilty

Bible

Guilty

Innocent

Table 1 - The Girardian Breakthrough

In the case at hand, there can be no doubt that God is innocent. Does it follow that the Vatican is guilty? The answer is yes if by "Vatican" we mean "the Vatican as a patriarchal system." The answer is no if we try to assign guilt to one or more of the Vatican officials involved in this sad episode. One reason is, of course, that only God can judge. In terms of mimetic analysis, another reason is that the aformentioned Vatican officials were acting under the contagious influence of the patriarchal mindset. The real culprit is the phenomenon of patriarchal contagion. Perhaps these officials thought that they knew what they were doing, but the weight of large and old institutions, such as the Roman Catholic Church, is just too much for anyone on the inside to remain free of patriarchal contagion. Therefore, as Girard suggests, it is always wise to remember the words of Jesus on the cross: "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do."[04].

There is an old saying, "what is best may be the enemy of what is good". It does not apply in this case, because patriarchy is not good. Marx said that "religion is the opium of the people". Marx was wrong. Religion is not the opium of the people. But patriarchal religious institutions, and the social behavior they induce, are the opium of the people. As Matthew Fox has pointed out [07]:

"It goes back to the patriarchy overtaking the Western church in about the fourth century when it inherited the empire. There's a statement by one of these ascetic philosophers, Philo. "We must keep down our passions just as we keep down the lower classes." That gives you some insight into history, doesn't it? Passion and compassion are related. A passionate response to injustice is what gives you energy to do something about it. If you can keep that energy down, then those who are running things are safe. In our culture, television and consumerism are the opium of the people. They keep people from getting in touch with their deep passions. People keep getting fed more and more TV and more and more things to shop for so that they don't ask the deeper questions."

"When human groups divide and become fragmented, during a period of malaise and conflicts, they may come to a point where they are reconciled again at the expense of a victim. Observers nowadays realize without difficulty, unless they belong to the persecuting group, that this victim is not really responsible for what he or she is accused of doing. The accusing group, however, views the victim as guilty, by virtue of a contagion similar to what we find in scapegoat rituals. The members of this group accuse their "scapegoat" with great fervor and sincerity. More often than not some incident, whether fantastic or trivial, has triggered a wave of opinion against this victim, a mild version of mimetic snowballing and the victim mechanism."

This is a very generic mimetic process. It applies to patriarchal hierarchies as well as to any other system of governance. How can it be detected in any given secular or religious institution? A very reliable "contagion detector" is available: when, in order to resolve any mimetic crisis, the civil and/or religious authorities equate "unity" with "unanimity", or "unity" with "uniformity," and fail to tolerate "unity in diversity," there can be little doubt that the "contagion phenomenon" is operative and the selection of a suitable scapegoat (human or divine) is about to be made. When the "unanimity" is enforced by some form of coercion, the "contagion detector" becomes a flashing red light. Such was the case in the Vatican episode that "terminated" the discussion about ordaining women in the Roman Catholic Church. In fact, it was stipulated that the issue could not be discussed anymore, under penalty of self-excommunication (or self-expulsion, i.e., the kind of scapegoating in which the scapegoats have to do their own scapegoating) . The "contagion detector" thus becomes a flashing red light with a very high pitch siren like those used by firetrucks. The selection of Christ as the divine scapegoat is almost "lost in the blur."

Girard's method of mimetic analysis does make sense and seems to be a good fit for the process leading to the publication of Ordinatio Sacerdotalis on 22 May 1994. The bypassing of widely public preparatory announcements, and the blunt language used in the document, reinforce the perception of mimetic violence independently of the literalist content of the text. In the opening paragraphs, the Anglican Communion is admonished to stop ordaining women, else ecumenical relations will suffer. Thus the Anglican Communion -- weak and vulnerable as it is when compared to Roman Catholicism -- is another convenient form of scapegoating, i.e., it is just a matter of keeping them outside the boundaries of the Roman church. Let them be aware that they are in very good company -- the Risen Christ, Lamb of God and Definitive Scapegoat. The Anglican Communion should feel blessed and honored. The Episcopal (Anglican) Church of the United States recently elected a woman as Presiding Bishop. Good for them!

It is not being suggested here that Girard's mimetic theory is an "infallible" answer for all questions regarding the why and how of violent religious behavior. The jury is still out on Girard's claim that mimetism provides a complete theory of human behavior, on the same footing with the Copernican revolution in Physics and Darwin's theory of evolution in biology. Some scholars refute the general validity of the theory to explain all forms of individual and organizational behavior [09]. Others, while accepting some elements of mimetic theory, prefer to avoid using other elements that they consider too speculative [10]. Nothing human is perfect, and Girard's work is no exception. If anyone knows of a better method to analyze the subtle complexities of religious violence, and how they induce social and ecological disruptions, please write to the editor.

"Before Christ and the Bible the satanic accusation was always victorious by virtue of the violent contagion that imprisoned human beings within systems of myth and ritual. The Crucifixion reduces mythology to powerlessness by exposing violent contagion, which is so effective in the myths that it prevents communities from ever finding out the truth, namely, the innocence of their victims....

"This is why Dante, in his Inferno, represented Satan as nailed to the Cross. When the single victim mechanism is correctly nailed to the Cross, its ultimately banal, insignificant basis appears in broad daylight, and everything based on it gradually loses its prestige, grows more and more feeble, and finally disappears....

"Christ does not achieve this victory through violence. He obtains it through a renunciation of violence so complete that violence can rage to its heart's content without realizing that by so doing, it reveals what it must conceal, without suspecting that its fury will turn back against it this time because it will be recorded and represented with exactness in the Passion narratives....

"The Gospels themselves draw our attention to the loss of mythic unanimity everywhere Jesus comes and intervenes. John in particular points out on numerous occasions how the witnesses become divided after Jesus speaks and acts. Each time, the people around him quarrel, and far from unifying them, his message precipitates disharmony and division. In the Crucifixion especially, this division plays a primary role. Without it there would not be a Gospel revelation...."

So much for "unanimities" imposed by ecclesiastical intimidation. What matters is unity in Christ, the kind of unity that builds the Body of Christ[13].

Figure 1 shows plots of the Human Development Index (HDI), Gender Development Index (GDI), Life Expentancy Index LEI), Education Index EDUI), and GDP Index (GDPI). The data source is the latest United Nations Human Development Report [15]. The graph shows the HDI and other indicators for 177 countries, with the countries ordered by increasing value of the HDI.

It is noteworthy that HDI and GDI increases are highly correlated. Country names are not shown, but the 20 countries with the lowest HDIs (0.281 to 0.453) include 16 countries where a strongly patriarchal religion is dominant, and 4 countries where there is significant religious diversity. On the other hand, the 20 countries with the highest HDIs (0.933 to 0.963) include 3 countries where a strongly patriarchal religion is dominant, and 17 countries where there is significant religious diversity. Coincidence?

Indices such as those used in Figure 1 require careful interpretation and validation of the assumptions implicit in their formulation, and careful evaluation of the credibility of the data used in their quantification. Given reasonable transparency of assumptions and credibility of data, they serve to give a sense of the dominant trends associated with human developement.

This is not a formal exercise in statistical inference. However, the tight correlation of HDI and GDI, and the religious mix of the countries at the low and high ends of human development, bring us full circle to the theme of Volume 1 Number 1 of this newsletter, i.e., the critical importance of cross-gender solidarity. The invited article by Dr. Evandro Vieira Ouriques
provides a solid epistemological foundation for further research.

Satan is no longer in control. The acceptability of violence is decreasing. Concern for the victims of violence is increasing. What is the next step going forward? See Part Three of I see Satan Fall Like Lightning, Rene Girard, Orbis Books, 1999.

[04]
Luke 24:34. For Girard's mimetic analysis of the Passion, see his article Are the Gospels Mythical?, First Things, 62, April 1996, pages 27-31, as well as his books The Scapegoat, John Hopkins University Press, 1986, chapters 8 to 12, and I See Satan Fall Like Lightning, Orbis Books, 1999, chapter 11.

Dr. Wendy C. Hamblet, Professor of Philosophy, Adelphi University, Garden City, New York: "I think your article analyzing church patriarchy in terms of Girard's theory of Mimetic Rivalry is a valid and compelling treatment. I also believe it is worth trying to publish offsite in a professional Religion and Philosophy journal. As I have said in my last letter, I do not myself greatly appreciate Girard's theory for the universal truth value that he claims for it. But certainly Freud would not have come up with these fascinating notions in the first place if there weren't substantial evidence for their existence in certain circumstances in the world. Your example is one of great ethical significance, so certainly needs to be more widely read!"

Jack Parsons, General Editor, Population Policy Press, UK: "I read your post with interest and you, in turn, may possibly be interested to learn that I have recently published (desk-top) a very strong critique of the authoritarian aspects of Vatican social control and its campaign against population concern and modern contraception. It is a monograph entitled The Vatican Body Count, of which, with David Willey, I am joint-author."

Lee Nason, University of Massachusetts Darmouth: "An interesting post. Are you really trying to dissuade The Church from their historic position? I propose a simpler way to make gender-discrimination a non-issue: convince women that they should not participate in The Church. If all women simply resigned from the Roman Catholic and Orthodox (and other gender-discriminatory) religions -- that is, most religions, such religions would either change or fall apart. Personally, I think a grassroots campaign would be much more effective than presenting the Pope (or the Patriarch) with polemics."

Leonard Dixon, Clark College: "This is food for contemplation. I can't think of any specific feedback to give, at the spur of the moment, except to say that these ideas feel like they are on the right track. In the past, groups of people were relatively insulated from one another – but now everyone's rubbing elbows with everyone else. Paradigms aren't worth 20 cents anymore! I will forward your message to some friends, and to a couple of listservers."

Call for Papers

This newsletter is now seeking scholars willing to write (pro-bono) short articles about the impacts of religious violence on human solidarity and ecological sustainability, as well as critical reviews of this work from the perspective of various religious traditions, i.e., Christianity, Buddhism, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Sikhism, etc.

Articles should be 1000 words minimum and 2000 words maximum, with no images. They should include title, author's name and affiliation, abstract, and carefully validated references. Please submit only material that has not been already published elsewhere. The author's CV should be submitted with the paper. The newsletter is published monthly, but there are no specific deadlines. Papers can be submitted at any time. If approved by the editor, they will be added as an "invited paper" when time and space allows.

Could you kindly share this invitation with your friends and associates, to see if anyone is interested?

CALL FOR PAPERS: The 14th international conference of the Society of Human Ecology (SHE) will take place 18-21 October 2006 at the College of the Atlantic in Bar Harbor, Maine. SHE welcomes proposals for sessions, multi-session symposia, as well as individual papers. Contact the Conference Committee, SHE XIV.

DATABASE UPDATE:
The Ecocosm Dynamics Ltd. Links Directory has been updated to include 1314 selected websites. The links are structured as a relational database. There a five columns of information for each link: discipline, sub-discipline, institutional source, content category, and website name/description.

1. How can sustainable development be achieved for all?
2. How can everyone have sufficient clean water without conflict?
3. How can population growth and resources be brought into balance?
4. How can genuine democracy emerge from authoritarian regimes?
5. How can policymaking be made more sensitive to global long-term perspectives?
6. How can the global convergence of information and communications technologies work for everyone?
7. How can ethical market economies be encouraged to help reduce the gap between rich and poor?
8. How can the threat of new and reemerging diseases and immune micro-organisms be reduced?
9. How can the capacity to decide be improved as the nature of work and institutions change?
10. How can shared values and new security strategies reduce ethnic conflicts, terrorism, and the use of weapons of mass destruction?
11. How can the changing status of women help improve the human condition?
12. How can transnational organized crime networks be stopped from becoming more powerful and sophisticated global enterprises?
13. How can growing energy demands be met safely and efficiently?
14. How can scientific and technological breakthroughs be accelerated to improve the human condition?
15. How can ethical considerations become more routinely incorporated into global decisions?

".... There is no longer male or female;for all of you are one in Christ Jesus."

1900 Years ofChristian Patriarchy

First Council of Nicea 325
First Council of Constantinople 381
Council of Ephesus 431
Council of Chalcedon 451
Second Council of Constantinople 553
Third Council of Constantinople 680-681
Council of Trullo 692
Second Council of Nicea 787
Fourth Council of Constantinople 869
Fifth Council of Constantinople 1341-1351
Council of Sutri 1046-1047
First Lateran Council 1123
Second Lateran Council 1139
Third Lateran Council 1179
Fourth Lateran Council 1215
First Council of Lyon 1245
Second Council of Lyon 1274
Council of Vienne 1311-1313
Council of Pisa 1409
Council of Constance 1414-1418
Council of Siena 1423-1424
Council of Basel 1431
Fifth Lateran Council 1512-1517
Council of Trent 1545-1563
First Vatican Council 1869-1870
Second Vatican Council 1962-1965

Common Era (CE)

"Humankind is never the victim of God;God is always the victim of humankind."